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An Absence of Compassion
Why I can’t feel sorry for CEO Brian Thompson
I read with some surprise that the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was gunned down by an unknown assailant in Manhattan at 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday, December 4th. When I first came across the article, I didn’t give it a lot of thought. People are killed in New York and other cities every day, and sometimes those people are wealthy, famous, or both. New York, after all, is the same city where John Lennon was gunned down at his front door in 1980.
As I read the article and several others on the topic, I became aware of the circumstances surrounding it. This was not some random act of violence. This was a well-planned hit on an insurance executive. Video taken at the scene showed Thompson walking on his way to an investors meeting. Hiding in waiting was his assassin, who stepped out from the shadows when Thompson passed by, pointed his pistol at Thompson, and shot him in the back. When Thompson stumbled and fell, the shooter came toward him and shot him several more times. Thompson did not survive.
The masked shooter then fled on an e-bike.
As I read further, I learned that authorities found bullet casings on the scene with the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” written on them. Those words form a popular saying in the insurance industry, according to ABC News…
